Sign Language Ban Imposed on N.J. Girl

If I understood the story correctly, the bus driver wanted the girl to stop signing because everyone was making fun of her and her friends? If this is true, now you see why I felt it is hard to be the only deaf in school. It doesn't have to be about signing, but about anything that do with deafness. It's not just hard on deaf people, but people who are involve in the deaf world. It was hard on my younger hearing sister (she goes to the same school as I do, and we are one grade different from each other), my hearing friends, it is hard on my hearing son. It is a sacrifice they had to make. They had to learn to face the mocking and the teasing all because of me.
 
I know it is old news, but I have to agree with A that it is hard on being the only Deaf girl to go to the public school which mean there is no Deaf program. It was no mainstream school at all. And wow, she just almost got hit by the rocket bottle that one of the kids did that cause her to lose her hearing. Her mother does not know there are other options that she can find a way to have her daughter go to the Deaf school or go into the mainstream school with other deaf children in her classroom. That is sad. :( Anyway, I think the bus driver and the school authorities are wrong to ban the ASL or any other sign language to communicate. It is suppose to be a free country. No one is stopping her not to sign. She wanted to sign. :roll:
 
Sign Language Ban Imposed on N.J. Girl - ABC News
School officials have threatened a hearing-impaired girl with suspension if she uses sign language to talk to her friends on the school bus, the girl's parents say.

Danica Lesko and her parents say sign language is the only way to for the 12-year-old to communicate, especially while riding to school on a noisy bus.

But officials at Stonybrook School — which is not a school for the hearing-impaired — and district officials in Branchburg, N.J., apparently believe signing is a safety hazard. They have sent a letter to the Lesko family ordering Danica to stop using sign language on the school bus or risk a three-day suspension.

The March 30 letter from her principal that said Danica was "doing sign language after being told it wasn't allowed on the bus."

The Leskos may file a lawsuit over the sign language ban, claiming officials are violating Danica's civil rights and violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"She has a hearing problem, and now she's being punished for using sign language," Mary Ann Lesko, Danica's mother, told The Star-Ledger of Newark. "It's absurd."

Danica's parents told the paper that other students who rode to school with their daughter made fun of her, and refused to stay in their seats as they teased other girls who were using sign language. They said school officials are singling out Danica and not addressing those who should really be reprimanded.

Schools Officials: Safety First

In a statement released through the school district's attorney, David Rubin, the Branchburg Board of Education refused to discuss the details of Danica's case, saying only that its version of events differs from the parents' version.

However, the board insisted it has not violated anyone's rights and is only trying to protect other students who must ride on the school bus.

"The Board is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to all students with disabilities, and is satisfied that there has been no violation of that policy in this case," officials said in the statement. "The Board is also committed to assuring the safety of all students who travel on District buses, and will continue to take appropriate steps to accomplish that goal."
One deaf-rights advocate said Danica's parents have a strong basis for a lawsuit because sign language could be a considered a foreign language, and school officials could be violating the girl's First Amendment right to communicate.

"Why should there be a ban?" asked Charlotte Karras, outreach coordinator for the Edison, N.J.-based Alliance for Disabled in Action. "It's a violation of her communication rights. She's said it's the only way she can communicate with her friends … It's [the ban] against the ADA and violates the First Amendment and her family can file a discrimination suit citing the Americans With Disabilities Act."

Karras said her organization would be willing to help the Leskos with any legal action.

Danica's parents say she began losing her hearing last November, when a classmate allegedly shot a bottle rocket near her ear. They have already sued the Branchburg School District over that incident.
 
Mod Note:

Threads is merged.
 
I read that this news is from 2001?

From an AD'er's facebook.
http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/forum/pop_printer_friendly.asp?TOPIC_ID=307
Sign language banned on school bus

Printed from: School Bus Fleet Magazine Forums
Topic URL: http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=307
Printed on: 06/01/2010

BRANCHBURG, N.J. — Parents of a 12-year-old hearing-impaired student who was reprimanded for using sign language on the school bus are threatening to sue the Branchburg School District if officials do not allow their daughter to continue signing.

District administrators, claiming that the signing was creating a disturbance on the bus, demanded that all students discontinue the practice. When Danica Lesko refused to stop signing, the district issued a report threatening to suspend her riding privileges. The girl’s family contends that the disturbance on the bus was created by other passengers, who were mocking the actions of the hearing-impaired students.

Danica’s parents are filing suit with the State Department of Education and have retained the legal services of New Jersey Protection and Advocacy. “It’s an issue of basic civil rights. She is a student with a disability, and the school district is trying to quash a student’s right to communicate,” Sheri-Rose Rubin, an attorney for the legal team, told reporters at the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

Danica’s parents, who have already filed suit against the district for the on-campus incident that allegedly caused Danica’s hearing loss, are ready to file a second suit if administrators do not retract their prohibition on signing.
Click to expand...
 
Apparently this family has been fighting the school for a decade, and there's a "no-talking" rule enforced on the bus; spoken or signed.

A little bird told me.
 
As far as I'm concerned that's a blatant case of discrimation and it's a shame it's been going on for ten years.
 
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